Web page download time can be used as a key performance indicator of end user/subscriber experience and satisfaction in a data network or a wireless communication network. Conventionally, web page download time may be measured or estimated by software embedded in a web browser of a user device, such as for example a wireless communication device or a computing device on which end users access web pages. The software may then transmit the estimated web page download time back to the data network operator. However, this technique requires software adapted for all types of mobile devices, computing devices and browsers.
Non-intrusive or passive monitoring of data networks has been proposed as a means for estimating web page download time of end user/subscriber. However, due to the large number of computing devices and wireless communication devices continuously accessing the Internet, coupled with the fact that IP packets corresponding to each subscriber may not travel along the same route, determination of web page download time of each web session of each user device is difficult. In addition, each user device may have multiple web sessions with different web servers, and each multiple web session (belonging to/classified to the same domain) may include multiple traffic flows which may include a web server re-directed by a managing web server after receiving a request message from the user device. As such, it is difficult to monitor respectively the user-perspective web page/home page download time on computing devices and wireless communication devices.
Against this background there is a need for a method, a network monitoring device or a system that can efficiently and more accurately estimate web page/home page download time on a user device from the selection of a hyperlink or Universal Resource Identifier (URI) input in a web browser to complete web page download on the user device.